Conflict quote:“Never have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.”
-Mark Twain
-Mark Twain
Statement of intent
For this project, I aim to produce a page on this website full of high quality creative photos based around the theme of Conflict, more specifically gang violence and the vulnerability I have taken photos I will then do a variety post processing in Photoshop such as colour correction, blur correction and more to improve my pictures as well as turn some of them into posters.
For my research, I will look at famous war photographers like Pete Muller as they are involved daily around the theme I am. Pete Muller has produced many powerful images that have strong messages such as a young child holding up a weapon or a Tank aiming right at a family. With my own photos I plan to have them give off strong messages that really hit the viewer I will use ideas from Pete to inspire me.
Some of my initial ideas are to have someone maybe standing on a bridge contemplating there life reflecting the theme of gangs or People covering there mouths as if they are scared to speak up about the daily problems they are going through, I also plan to use shallow depth of field throughout all my pictures as I think that the blur will provide a better overall effect, as well as different angles and levels instead of the regular eye level, majority of the photos will be taken without a tripod.
To show off a variety of new skills I will take my pictures into Photoshop and do a selection of edits to generally improve them as well as turn some of them into powerful posters that advertise different messages and also I will try out different locations instead of the same places.
I will be using the Standard lens that comes with the Canon 600D Camera, Tripods and also lighting stands as I do not have access to more creative options most of my improvements will be done in Photoshop.
For this project I have a total of 8 weeks, I will spend about 1-2 weeks on general planning and research then with the rest of the time would be the actual practical work.
For my research, I will look at famous war photographers like Pete Muller as they are involved daily around the theme I am. Pete Muller has produced many powerful images that have strong messages such as a young child holding up a weapon or a Tank aiming right at a family. With my own photos I plan to have them give off strong messages that really hit the viewer I will use ideas from Pete to inspire me.
Some of my initial ideas are to have someone maybe standing on a bridge contemplating there life reflecting the theme of gangs or People covering there mouths as if they are scared to speak up about the daily problems they are going through, I also plan to use shallow depth of field throughout all my pictures as I think that the blur will provide a better overall effect, as well as different angles and levels instead of the regular eye level, majority of the photos will be taken without a tripod.
To show off a variety of new skills I will take my pictures into Photoshop and do a selection of edits to generally improve them as well as turn some of them into powerful posters that advertise different messages and also I will try out different locations instead of the same places.
I will be using the Standard lens that comes with the Canon 600D Camera, Tripods and also lighting stands as I do not have access to more creative options most of my improvements will be done in Photoshop.
For this project I have a total of 8 weeks, I will spend about 1-2 weeks on general planning and research then with the rest of the time would be the actual practical work.
Analyzing an image using the 5cs
Context
UNICEF saves children’s lives, defends their rights, and helps them fulfil their potential. We never give up. UNICEF, for every child. Born into conflict Every two seconds, a child takes his or her first breath in a conflict zone. Among refugee and migrant children on the move, the risks to new-borns and mothers are especially acute. Worldwide, more than 16 million babies were born into conflict this year. Refugee and migrant flows into Europe remain at an unprecedented high. Among the most vulnerable are small children who require special attention and monitoring. One-month-old Youssef, born by caesarean section, journeys through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with his family towards a new life.
Composition
The focus point in that picture is the 3 people who look like they have escaped war and the picture was taken with a wide angle lens and no tripod was used which means the photo wasn't planned it was taken in the moment, they also used shutter speed,the shutter speed they used was about 1/1250. They also used deep depth of field because the the background of the picture has a blur effect and the people in the picture are in focus. They have also used the rule of thirds in the picture 2/3 mud and 1/3 is sky which tells me they used the rule of thirds. The picture has cold/dark colors to give the effect of a dull atmosphere. A diagonal subject line was used in the picture using this gives the effect that will draw your attention to the mans face it forms like a small triangle which leads up to the mans face.
Connection
Its about refuges in my opinion as the people in the picture are carrying luggage and it looks like they have left their home and other things of their belonging. This image links to my work because the picture represents suffering and suffering is part of conflict. In my opinion there is a strong message behind this picture and this message is to always thing abut other people who are suffering and to also always be thankful of what you have because there are other people who don't have anything. when you use black and white it would represent something non positive and really dull i would use this in my project to represent conflict.
Comment
I like that the photographer used a deep depth of field it made the atmosphere look harsh and bulk also I like that that they used a wide lens which will help us to see and imagine how their living conditions are and they used a diagonal subject line to attract us to the mans disturbed face.I don't like that there is a lot of emotional effect on the audience because there was no involvement.Yes this could inspire me because the way it was taken and the way it creates a effect which is emotional to the audience which would help to deliver the message in a stronger firm way. Also there is a meaning behind the image, this is to make the audience be thankful that they aren't living in their conditions.The photo creates a sense of love,poverty and destruction,The way they are all holding hands creates a sense of love and the way they are wearing worn out dirty cloths tells that they are a victim of poverty.
Content
The photo looks new and modern this is because that the picture is in colour and it looks like it been taken with a newer camera because a lot of things such as depth of field and shutter speed would be difficult to do on a older camera. I personally think think that this picture was taken in Europe in the countryside this is because if the mud which could be used for the animals,also the solid building in the back round looks like a animal hut I could be where these people could of slept at night this will create a strong emotion of sadness and mercy.
Don Mcullen
This picture was taken by the photographer Don MCullin,In this picture Soldiers from the Royal Anglian Regiment counter-attack young Catholic stone-throwers in The Bogside, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 1971.It's a black and white photo with a war theme.
I think that this picture is really good in wise that it delivers a powerful message to the public also the photographer has used shutter speed to his advantage to catch the men in the middle of their raid, also I like how the photographer has the people in the background who are adding emotion to the picture.The focus of this picture is the the men with riot shields and weapons and how the people around them are intimidated,the photo was taken on level eye, the photographer has used a fast shutter speed to catch the men in the middle of the actionTheir picture are to do with my theme a little bit however their picture could inspire me to take photos similar to it by using props such as plastic guns.I really like this picture because the photographer has used shutter speed and black and white edits.This picture has black and white edits and the photographer has used depth of field to add the effect of catching the men in the middle of the action. Also the photographer has used the effect of black and white to give it a chill and
Plan
shoot 1 (gang violence)
These pictures are showing teens 14-15 years selling drugs and 1 of the teens who are in the same group selling drugs get beat up and stabbed over the drugs and money he has.This is a strong message to young teens the message is that if you sell drugs your life is at risk because their
BEST WORST
Plan for next time :
For next time I need to go out on to the field (change of scenery) and take a couple of people with hoodies and props such as hoodies, maybe fake blood and masks.
shoot 2
Mug shot/interigation
The person who was involved in the drug deal turned out to be a undercover police and he put all of us in prison.
These pictures send a powerful message that if you get involved with gang violence then you will not live a happy ending.
These pictures send a powerful message that if you get involved with gang violence then you will not live a happy ending.
first Photoshop picture
second Photoshop picture
Evaluation
To start off the evaluation I want to talk about my theme and what I thought of it,my theme was "conflict" to me the word conflict gave however I did further research in our own theme which was "gang violence" this is because its a growing problem in our area of Manchester we did a couple of shoots with our theme which turned out to be great,our inspiration was a photographer called Don Mcullen he created strong images around violence which helped me to make my photos powerful, the thing he used where effects such as shutter speed and black and white effect.
During this project enjoyed a lot of things such as going out and taking images images around my theme. I learnt a lot of things such as how to create an atmosphere in your picture by adjusting the setting things such as white balance or using flash to make the picture look flashy. I also enjoyed using Photoshop,I enjoyed adjusting the colors on the photo to give it a effect of terror and also adding a spot light so they can be the center of attention. The techniques I want to learn are for Photoshop I want to learn how to edit the photos more to make them look way better.
During this project I encountered some issues that I solved things such as I needed to change the setting which was hard to resolve because we were restricted to our school premises how ever I resolved the problem by make my area more creative by doing thing like changing the lighting and the areas we take the photos. The things I would change if I did this project again is that I would try and extend the amount of shoots from 2 to 4 this is because it give me more time to learn and improve my work. Also I would try and extent the areas that I can go to take photos (outside of school).